DALLAS (AP) – Two young children found chained and leashed outside a San Antonio home had suffered hundreds of scars and injuries from months, perhaps years, of abuse, a sheriff’s official said Friday.
Doctors who treated the children after they were found April 29 determined they had old injuries indicating a long period of abuse. One of them also was suffering from hypothermia and had a broken arm resulting from the way she was tied to a garage door using a dog leash, Bexar County sheriff’s spokesman James Keith said.
Authorities initially said the children were 2 and 3 years old, but Keith says they may be a year older.
“Unfortunately, child abuse is a major problem here, and in this case we’re just glad we were able to find these children before any further harm could occur to them,” Keith said, explaining that deputies went to the home after a neighbor called about a child who could be heard crying for hours.
The girl’s brother was found tethered to the ground by a dog chain that was clamped to his ankle. Several piles of human feces were found nearby, and the boy was wet, indicating he was left in the rain.